Summarize

2022’s Regional Festival season kicked off in Extreme style as packed grids delivered splendid racing, rookie winners and a fine show to an enthusiastic Zwartkops crowd on Saturday. Promised showers failed to materialise, replaced by a balmy partly cloudy Pretoria autumn’s afternoon, to the delight of competitors and crowd alike. Best of all, record entries in several classes promised great racing, not least of all among a record 43-Polo PABAR VW Challenge grid that saw classes split into A and C racing together, and a 23 car B grid alone. 

Racing rookie Hannes Scheepers caused a sensation to lead his first ever race from lights to flag in Class B aboard his Dainfein Dental Polo. Hot 102.7 FM Pole lass Charisse van der Merwe’s chased all the way to second from Ethan Coetzee, Elna Croeser, Dominic Dias and Cape visitor Giordano Lupini. Croeser initially led Lupini and Francois van Zyl's Jesus Saves car in a chaotic second heat, until a yellow flag. Van Zyl took over to lead Croeser, Dias, Stuart Mack, Scheepers and Coetzee home as a red flag ended the race.

Pole man Stian Kriel’s first A and C race ended in the Turn 2 kitty litter, leaving Rory Atkinson's BHIT car to hold Performance Master Wayne, Waldie Meintjies’ AllWagen, Bevin Masters CPS Warehouse car Derick Smalberger and Sam Dale home in the all Polo 6R Class A field. Atkinson beat Wayne and Bevin Masters, a resurgent Kriel, Meintjies and Stelio Nousias home in race 2, while FSS man Pierluigi Muzzulini and Ian Walker’s Cycles United car entertained throughout both C races, with Dino Smit third.

The grid was similarly packed full of superbly prepared DOE Formula Vees as Gert van den Berg took race 1 in his DOE Start My Car Rhema 2 from Lendl Jansen’s Bull Security machine and Liqui Moly man Lushen Ramchander in the only Forza in a pack of Rhema 2s. Greg Wilson was fourth from Hills family, dad Peter, Vaughn and Brandon Wilson. Overall top 3 Wilson, van den Berg and Ramchander led Vaughn and Peter Hills and Shaun van der Linde home in race 2.

Jeffrey Kruger’s Design Hut Birkin and Thomas Falkiner ARE Taylon thrilled with two splendid race long duels in a full Lotus Challenge field. Birkin quartet Mackie Adlem, Rudi Barnard, JP Nortje and David Coetzee followed in race 1. Adlem, was third from Nortje, Barnard and Sean Hewitt in Heat 2. Ben Knights’ SWAMBO car held Leet Racing duo, Andre du Plessis, Nick Hodgson off for Locost honours. African Packaging driver Sean Hepburn bounced back to win race 2 from overall top two Hodgson and Knights, and du Toit.

Karel Stolts Pretoria Noord Toyota Etios beat Jonathan du Toit's Motul Civic, Andre Dannhauser’s Pro Auto Corsa and Louis Scholtz’ Car Care Clinic Civic to the opening Car Care Clinic Superhatch win. Nic Martin’s Peugeot 207 defeated Donavan le Roux's Civic in Class B and Francis Aldrich’s Corsa beat Tony Hyams’ Fiesta in C. Dannhauser struck back to top a splendid four car fight in race 2 from du Toit, overall winner Karel and Louis Scholtz. Melanie Spurr’s Car Care Clinic Polo beat Martin in B as Aldrich doubled up from Tony Hyams in C.

Deon du Plessis' nimble SR2 BPT KTM put one over SR3 men, Mark du Toit’s thundering TAR Lola T70 Spyder, Klippies Krige and Norman Witt's Lotus 7s, Jonathan du Toit’s Ecosse and SR4 winner Dean Wolson’s Wright S2000 in the Sportscar races. Marius Jacobs AAA Tigra beat Ismail Peck’s similar car to Silvercup honours. Paul Verios’ Acrotek GTI took Class A, Dewald Brummer’s MAD Polo B and Kevin Paynter’s Payntwagon Ballade Class C. Marthinus Viljoen’s Golf won Class C and Chris Cornje’s Dozer VW Class B+.

Class C trio Paul Verios’s Acrotek GTI 7 and JDM pair Fred Kruger and Dirk Lawrence’s Hondas put one over Louis Cloete’s Class A Performance Parts Beetle in On The Track Mag  Clubmans Race 1. Duane Brown’s Polo took Class E, Rodney Kruis’ Real Pro Ballade Class F and Anton Bitzer’s Mazda RX7 Class G. Cloete struck back to take race 2 from Lawrence and Eugene Gouws’ thundering  Master Mowers Chev Firenza V8. Kruger won Class C, Tjaart Visser’s Ballade E, Kruis took Class F and Bitzer G.

Louis Scholtz’s Car Care Clinic Golf took both Car Car Clinic 111 wins from GT class rival Bob Neill’s Delmon Honda. Adrian Dalton’s Xtra Golf took Class A from Wouter Roos’ Car Care Clinic Golf and Phillip Meyer’s Pple Porsche 924 GTR. Elton Fuchs’ M Trac Golf was the B winner, Chris Smit’s Captive Porsche 944 took Class C and Yorick Smith’s PREI Mazda MX5 Class D. Besides Meyer beating Roos to second in Class A, the results were the same in race 2.

Zwartkops’ attention now turns to the National Extreme Festival’s first visit to Pretoria in four weeks’ time on 23 April, before the Regional Extreme Festival heads to its second round at Red Star near Delmas on Saturday 14 May.